User Review

7.1

Lego Harry Potter 5-7 on the Xbox 360 takes Harry through a series of challenges and missions on a quest to stop the evil Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, who is back, and Harry suddenly has the realization that he is actually connected to Voldemort. Later the Ministry of Magic decides to try and take appropriate steps in order to stop the potential threat that this imposes.

As you progress through the game you are presented with Lego style characters which represent numerous personalities which are to be found in the Harry Potter movies and books. Unfortunately, if you have played the previous title which is called Lego Harry Potter 1-4, you may feel like this is a rerun of this first encounter. A lot of the mission styles and gameplay are like the original, although to the maker's credit, the storyline is well presented and this enables users to feel like they are following the books or films closely. When most levels end you are presented with a cut scene, a cinematic storyline which enables users to follow the story with relative ease as the game progresses.

You may decide to roam through Hogwarts you can learn an array of spells, which in turn enable Harry to be able to construct items as well as destroy them, via the use of the wand. These include Curses and Charms. You will also have to undergo training in order to defeat various creatures which you encounter in the game, such as the Death Eaters for example. Within the game there are 24 stories to unlock and also 16 classrooms to attend in order to unlock the full attributes that Harry possesses.

During gameplay you will come into contact with over 200 different characters as you progress, and each one is very finely detailed, and on top of this you also have the option of split screen, enabling players to switch between a jump in and jump out style of gameplay. This is mainly designed to allow more than one player to play the game, multiplayer if you will.

The graphics in Lego Harry Potter 5-7 are very sharp, sparks fly in various colors like a projectile from the wand and the shiny Lego characters really do add to the game's overall experience. I should also add that this game is based on the last 4 books created in the Harry Potter series, and the actual Hogwarts is a representation of the Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows Part 2 the film.

If you are looking to venture into the first 4 books then perhaps you should pickup the previous title Lego Harry Potter 1-4. Overall this is by far one of the best in the series of Lego games which seem to be springing up in leaps and bounds.

Lego Harry Potter 5-7 unfortunately did not differ greatly enough from the first title to be a really impressive game. You will find lots of enjoyment here but the makers should have tried harder to expand the overall style and playability so offering something different to the first. The levels are very similar to the original release, but they do follow on from the original game story with some much improved cinematic cut scenes thrown in which does improve the general appeal of the game.

8.6

The action begins by identifying you as Joseph Turok, a Native American who is involved in a mission to hunt down a disappeared military company that he was once a part of. You're not the only one looking for this rogue company, as you have a bunch of squad mates that are working with you. Unfortunately, the ship you're all on crashes on a planet that happens to be inhabited with copious amounts of dinosaurs and other prehistoric baddies.

Among the standards you might expect, like T-rexes and raptors, there are plenty of herbivores around, as well as giant scorpions, lizards, flies, and other creatures. Fighting these numerous baddies could be tough, but fortunately Turok gets a bunch of different weapons, like a pulse rifle, a shotgun, and rocket launcher, and lots of others. He can, however, only carry two weapons at a time, although he can duel-wield most weapons. As great as those guns are though, they don't compare to the old standby; your knife.

There are tons of different cinematic sequences that have you pushing a certain button as fast as you can, or pulling the trigger quickly to get a kill. There are lots of ways to melee with these beasts, from picking up a smaller dinosaur and snapping it's spine over your knee, to jumping on top of a raptor and driving your knife into its brain. These little sequences make the entire game a whole lot more fun than just pointing and shooting, and shows just how much of a bad sucker Turok is.

Despite how much fun it is to play as Turok and annihilate dinosaurs, there are some issues. One of them is that the enemy characters' AI isn't very good, and distracts the player from hunting dinosaurs. Another is that the game takes some of the large, set-piece battles a little too far. Oftentimes, a single wave isn't enough, and wave after wave of baddies will rush at you to die. There also isn't an extremely deep story in this title, which is too bad with the good buildup at the beginning, but generally the game isn't about solving the problem of the dinosaur world, it's more about finding a way off the planet.

The single player portion is about eight to ten hours of solid gameplay. Where this game really shines, though, is the online play. There are a bunch of different modes available, most of which are slightly different than the standard multiplayer games. The great thing, though, is the addition of dinosaurs on players' teams that can be unleashed, but which don't always go after the enemy like they should.

By providing an exceptional first-player experience, as well as tons of unique online play, Turok makes a good showing. There are other FPSs out there, but few that let you drive a knife into a raptor skull, and it's worth playing just for that.

7.2

Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 for the Nintendo DS is everything you know and love about the wizarding world of Harry Potter and everything you have come to expect from Lego games. The game is far from ground breaking, as many might have guessed, but then it does not need to be, as it combines the winning formula of Lego and Harry Potter into an easy to play video game. It, like its predecessors, is great for younger casual gamers and Harry Potter fans of all ages.

The gameplay is far form innovative, again sticking to a trusted formula. The method for Lego games has proved solid in the past and it is what the many players of Lego titles have come to expect and love. The Lego series itself is designed to be easy going with child friendly gameplay. It takes a lot of the more serious but still to some degree lighthearted aspects of Harry Potter and puts the Lego slant on them. Typical of other Lego titles it includes puzzles and quests relying on your acquired knowledge of spells, potions, wand waving and problem solving skills to figure them out. There are many secrets to discover and all manner of locations to discover and explore, and a lot of time can be spent unlocking extra content.

The game picks up where it's previous title left off, which for players who have played the earlier title is good thing, but those new to the Harry Potter series it may be difficult to drop straight in to the story. Of course no no one could complain that it takes place in the same location, Hogwarts, which is imaginatively caricatured in Lego format, and the same applies to the characters and beasts that inhabit that world

One of the most prominent improvements for Harry Potter Years 5-7 is the duel system. It adds a new layer of fun for players as it is simple and well done. New spells and items have been added to the roster allowing for some new customization, keeping the game from getting stale and feeling too much like the previous title.

7.1

Lego Harry Potter 5-7 for the PC takes Harry through a series of challenges and missions on a quest to stop the evil Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, who is back, and Harry suddenly has the realization that he is actually connected to Voldemort. Later the Ministry of Magic decides to try and take appropriate steps in order to stop the potential threat that this imposes.

As you progress through the game you are presented with Lego style characters which represent numerous personalities which are to be found in the Harry Potter movies and books. Unfortunately, if you have played the previous title which is called Lego Harry Potter 1-4, you may feel like this is a rerun of this first encounter. A lot of the mission styles and gameplay are like the original, although to the maker's credit, the storyline is well presented and this enables users to feel like they are following the books or films closely. When most levels end you are presented with a cut scene, a cinematic storyline which enables users to follow the story with relative ease as the game progresses.

You may decide to roam through Hogwarts you can learn an array of spells, which in turn enable Harry to be able to construct items as well as destroy them, via the use of the wand. These include Curses and Charms. You will also have to undergo training in order to defeat various creatures which you encounter in the game, such as the Death Eaters for example. Within the game there are 24 stories to unlock and also 16 classrooms to attend in order to unlock the full attributes that Harry possesses.

During gameplay you will come into contact with over 200 different characters as you progress, and each one is very finely detailed, and on top of this you also have the option of split screen, enabling players to switch between a jump in and jump out style of gameplay. This is mainly designed to allow more than one player to play the game, multiplayer if you will.

The graphics in Lego Harry Potter 5-7 are very sharp, sparks fly in various colors like a projectile from the wand and the shiny Lego characters really do add to the game's overall experience. I should also add that this game is based on the last 4 books created in the Harry Potter series, and the actual Hogwarts is a representation of the Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows Part 2 the film.

If you are looking to venture into the first 4 books then perhaps you should pickup the previous title Lego Harry Potter 1-4. Overall this is by far one of the best in the series of Lego games which seem to be springing up in leaps and bounds.

Lego Harry Potter 5-7 unfortunately did not differ greatly enough from the first title to be a really impressive game. You will find lots of enjoyment here but the makers should have tried harder to expand the overall style and playability so offering something different to the first. The levels are very similar to the original release, but they do follow on from the original game story with some much improved cinematic cut scenes thrown in which does improve the general appeal of the game.

7.1

Lego Harry Potter 5-7 for the PS3 takes Harry through a series of challenges and missions on a quest to stop the evil Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, who is back, and Harry suddenly has the realization that he is actually connected to Voldemort. Later the Ministry of Magic decides to try and take appropriate steps in order to stop the potential threat that this imposes.

As you progress through the game you are presented with Lego style characters which represent numerous personalities which are to be found in the Harry Potter movies and books. Unfortunately, if you have played the previous title which is called Lego Harry Potter 1-4, you may feel like this is a rerun of this first encounter. A lot of the mission styles and gameplay are like the original, although to the maker's credit, the storyline is well presented and this enables users to feel like they are following the books or films closely. When most levels end you are presented with a cut scene, a cinematic storyline which enables users to follow the story with relative ease as the game progresses.

You may decide to roam through Hogwarts you can learn an array of spells, which in turn enable Harry to be able to construct items as well as destroy them, via the use of the wand. These include Curses and Charms. You will also have to undergo training in order to defeat various creatures which you encounter in the game, such as the Death Eaters for example. Within the game there are 24 stories to unlock and also 16 classrooms to attend in order to unlock the full attributes that Harry possesses.

During gameplay you will come into contact with over 200 different characters as you progress, and each one is very finely detailed, and on top of this you also have the option of split screen, enabling players to switch between a jump in and jump out style of gameplay. This is mainly designed to allow more than one player to play the game, multiplayer if you will.

The graphics in Lego Harry Potter 5-7 are very sharp, sparks fly in various colors like a projectile from the wand and the shiny Lego characters really do add to the game's overall experience. I should also add that this game is based on the last 4 books created in the Harry Potter series, and the actual Hogwarts is a representation of the Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows Part 2 the film.

If you are looking to venture into the first 4 books then perhaps you should pickup the previous title Lego Harry Potter 1-4. Overall this is by far one of the best in the series of Lego games which seem to be springing up in leaps and bounds.

Lego Harry Potter 5-7 unfortunately did not differ greatly enough from the first title to be a really impressive game. You will find lots of enjoyment here but the makers should have tried harder to expand the overall style and playability so offering something different to the first. The levels are very similar to the original release, but they do follow on from the original game story with some much improved cinematic cut scenes thrown in which does improve the general appeal of the game.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

7.0

Namco brings another edition of Tekken with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for the Xbox 360, the eighth installment in the Tekken franchise and serves to entice casual and professional gamers alike. This game has a brand new engine but plays very similar to all Tekken games in the franchise. The Xbox 360 utilizes the crisp graphics available and the game will give nostalgia to old time Tekken lovers with the musics vast assortment of playlists.

With the recent surge the fighting game scene has seen since 2009 Namco as well as other fighting game developers have been trying to separate themselves from their competitors. The experienced Namco fighting team developers spearheaded by Yuichi Yonemori has made this game to become one of the most entertaining in the series. Coming out after Tekken 6 this is now the main attraction in the Tekken franchise. With long time Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada leading the way to make this game.

The goal in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is to fight against another player that is either controlling one or two other opponents. You hit them and fight against them with your attacks until their health bar goes down to zero. Once you train in the game you can learn to develop combos and strategies to use in combat against your opponent to better your chances at winning. Remember to never become discouraged with a loss, learn after every match and win next time.

The Tekken universe has an expansive story and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 only adds for fans to indulge into. If you are interested in the story behind the Tekken universe then this is a must pick up game. What gives this game a lot of replay value is the fact that there are so many characters to play as and pass the game with. Each character has their own unique story so it makes playing this game interesting each time because of how much the characters have their paths intersect. The only problem is that playing the game over and over again can feel to get too repetitive. This can be seen as both a good and bad aspect of Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Although players might feel overwhelmed by the amount of characters there are to pass the game, this adds high replay value at some point down the line. You can choose to drop the game for a couple of weeks and pick it back up to pass it with the characters you never got a chance to do so with.

Any fighting game fan can find themselves enjoying quality hours spent playing Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The biggest reason why this game is so fun is because of the endless amount of team combinations that a player can choose when they are playing this game. Having one of the biggest casts in Tekken history and fighting games in general players will always find themselves figuring out new combinations that are fun to play.

8.4

The Gears of War trilogy is perhaps one of the most visually recognizable third person shooters in video games today. From the chainsaw bayonet to the gravel voiced brute squad that makes up the male leads, Gears of War is a dystopian apocalypse at its finest, and despite complaints about the consistent presence of chest high walls, the game has a huge following among players. In Gears of War 3 players step back into the worn combat boots of Marcus Fenix, the gruff, grizzled hero that's out to save the world one barrage of bullets at a time.

What's The Story?

With Gears of War 3, things have spiraled completely out of control. The last human city fell a year and a half ago, and to make matters worse there's something brewing in the depths of the planet; something that can only mean more bad business for what's left of humanity. It's up to Marcus to lead what's left of his Delta Squad to key places to destroy the threats and try to rescue the chances for humanity by putting down whatever threats he and his team come across. By the end of the game though, players will have to put their trigger fingers to work to make sure that the world survives.

Gameplay

The end of the epic trilogy has taken what the previous two games did well and made them that much better. The controls are organic, and allow players to tuck, roll, run, dodge, strafe and reload all at speeds that make everything move at the pace of the player. Previous problems, such as the intelligence of the team's AI, or difficulty in aiming at what players really want to target have been mostly repaired, and overall the game flows better than either of the previous two installments, while keeping the same feeling of pedal to the metal action and teeth rattling violence that's made the series so popular for so long.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Gears of War 3, like the rest of the series, has all the things that can make a really enjoyable action game. However, there are some things that players will need to put on their blinders for in order to keep the suspension of disbelief. Players can't question the plot, or the logic of the world, for instance. While there aren't as many holes in it as there are in the enemy, there are some logic gaps. As many reviewers have said though, the game more than makes up for its shortcomings with great action and lovely scenery, along with enough twists and turns to keep players shooting and snarling as they go through wave after wave of enemies.

Gears of War 3, just as the previous games have done, has set the standard in the genre. With the conclusion of the trilogy though, players need to wring all the enjoyment they can out of the last chapter; there probably isn't going to be another one after it.

7.5

What, as a gamer, do you look for when your playing a video game? Most would say a good time. You want to have fun and have a good time while playing a video game. Saying that Saints Row the Third is fun, or a good time, would be a huge, gross understatement. This adult filled theme park of fun definitely delivers on good times. Do not dismiss this game as a Grand Theft Auto clone. It is a great game in itself and definitely deserves a play through.

In Saints Row the Third you are no longer in Stilwater, where the first to games took place, but instead in Steelport, a new huge city. Three locally run gangs currently run and operate the city, But now that Saints Row has moved in, they won't be settling for anything less than the top. And it is your job to take out and crush any competition that comes in your way. As the violent war between the gangs grow, STAG, which is an elite paramilitary police force, Headed by Commander Cyrus Temple, is sent to the city of Steelport to stop the war and put an end to the violence. After an intro mission begins your exit from Stilwater, you get the option to customize your character. Customization is really great, and almost no 2 people will ever look alike.

If you ever get bored of story missions, there are tons of fun things to do in Saints Row the Third. All these optional activities are sure to earn you both cash, and street cred on the streets of Steelport. One of the best things to do are fraud missions, a throwback to Saints 2. Basically, you run out into traffic and try to cause as much bodily harm to yourself as possible.

Actually, pretty much everything you do in Saints Row The Third is incentivized, and will get you either cash or street cred. With money you can purchased new cool clothes, awesome and powerful guns, new territory, and even upgrades. Respect however is kind of like experience points. With respect you get the ability to unlock new skills, such as no falling damage, and infinite sprint. In Saints Row the Third, everything from running through public naked, or nearly colliding with oncoming traffic will earn you respect, which is pretty awesome.

Certain story missions in Saints Row the Third give you access to frankly, bad ass vehicles. You can get an awesome pixilated retro game tank, or even a cool transforming hover jet. Another cool feature, is that you have an infinite supply of these vehicles in your homes. You can take out your game tank, or hover jet, fly it around without a care and crash it, then just go grab another. You can even have it delivered to you.

Saints Row The Third is a really well polished and extremely satisfying game to play. You should definitely give this game a play whenever you get the chance to, because you wont be disappointed.

6.9

The game has a hefty amount of direction from Clive Barker, renowned horror writer. The story has to do with another race of creature, known as the first born, created before Man. This creation attempt failed, and God stashed the failure away from humanity in another dimension. ThatÂ’s not the end of the story, though, as the first borns occasionally break into this dimension. When they do, the Jericho squad is there to send them back to their Hellish universe. As leader of that squad, Ross, youÂ’ll lead your team of five Jericho team mates through time to stop the enemy.

As your team proceeds through the game, you have the ability to switch between playing any of them at will. This leads to the most interesting gameplay dynamic in the game, which is that every character has unique abilities and play style for you to switch between. This gives players the chance to discover which skills they will use the most to fit their style of play, and thereby use that character the most. The method the game uses to teach all the different skills of the six will allow you to pick these talents up naturally as you play, not rushing you to gain talent in six different areas. Once you get them down though, the wide range of options open to you is staggering.

When youÂ’re not playing them, however, your team mates are controlled by the AI, which leads to some of the most troublesome parts of playing this game. Your team mates arenÂ’t exactly horrible at fighting, but the level design and the gameplay style for the game itself donÂ’t allow your team mates to live. What youÂ’ll continually find are levels that have no cover available for characters, and enemies that run up on your team and explode. These enemies can take a lot of fire, too, which usually ends with it getting close enough to blow half of your team apart when you take it down. Without any cover, your entire team is repeatedly left in a group in the open, and becomes cannon fodder when those enemies come charging. ItÂ’s an annoying system in a game that has such good potential.

ItÂ’s seeing that potential that makes the game so difficult to play through and handle. One the one hand, the idea of your squad is implemented so incredibly well, with each character feeling, and playing, like an individual. On the other hand, so much of the game is spent healing your characters after they have had a run-in with even a few of the enemy demons, that it continually saps the fun out of the gameplay experience. Overall, if you can handle being frustrated, Clive BarkerÂ’s Jericho has a lot of fun new elements to be enjoyed, in addition to the horror experience.

7.5

XCOM Enemy Unknown is a remake of a much older PC game series known collectively as XCOM. The game takes place on an Earth, where a multi-national military organization is attempting to push back the threat of complete annihilation at the hands of an alien enemy. Combining action, strategy and consequences, XCOM Enemy Unknown is a game that's both fun and harsh, bringing home the feeling of a war in a way that very few other games have managed successfully.

You're going to lose people in XCOM Enemy Unknown. These will be soldiers that players have come to care about, to rely on even. They're going to die in battle, often by accidents players never saw coming or from lucky shots that they could never have planned for. Veterans of a dozen missions that hold the team together can vanish in a single turn, and it's the job of the player to keep going, and to deal with that both from a story perspective and from a general's perspective. After all, the war doesn't stop just because one soldier, even a decorated one, goes down in the line of duty.

That said, XCOM Enemy Unknown also has the unique ability to combine strategy with resource management, ensuring that neither aspect ever gets boring. Players have to decide which soldiers to take, who to train up and get experience to, and even which alien technology bits to invest in to make sure that he or she has the best possible arsenal against the encroaching threat. Whether it's plasma rifles or satellite warning systems, cluster bombs or space ships, the options are all there. However, players have limited resources and will have to decide which projects get precedence and which ones get put on the back burner. Just like a real military commander.

XCOM Enemy Unknown is surprisingly harsh, which might take players a few reboots to really get used to. There's no regenerating health, or massive doomsday weapons that will win the war (except those owned by the aliens); players are the underdogs, plain and simple. The game is supposed to be hard, and it aims to bring home the feeling of a real battlefield by not coddling players when they make mistakes. On the one hand it's entirely possible to go back to the last save and start from there like a real world Prince of Persia. On the other hand, sometimes players have gotten in so deep that even going back to a previous save won't be enough to change the outcome of what's going to happen.

All in all, XCOM Enemy Unknown is a breath of fresh air in the strategy game section. Turn based combat doesn't have to be boring, and the refreshing twist on an old classic is enough to bring a new generation of gamers into one of the older titles boasted by modern PC gaming. However, it's still a good idea to keep some tissues handy for the funerals you'll have for your soldiers.